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Working Off The Weekend: Five Things To Know

The Good: Johns Hopkins-Virginia

In one hour of SportsCenter on Saturday night, the good (Zach
Palmer, Matt White goals in top 10 plays) and the ugly (North
Carolina-Maryland fight) were on display from a full day of college
lacrosse.

Palmer's one-handed, right-handed wraparound goal past Virginia
goalie Rob Fortunato is one unlikely to be attempted again this
season, unless in an indoor NLL game (Palmer's Canadian). White's
behind-the-back, over-the-shoulder goal was another play worthy of
the highlight attention.

But I just can't get away from this: The more I watch Steele
Stanwick the more it is reinforced that he's one of the best
attackmen to ever play the game. I don't think we can say this
enough. His passes have such pinpoint accuracy and his field sense
is second-to-none.

Take for example a subtle, unique play on Saturday afternoon
that underscores his skill. Coming off a pick, Stanwick drew two
Johns Hopkins defenders and jogged around the back left side of the
cage with the ball. Blue Jays goalie Pierce Bassett had come out of
his crease to cover an open man behind the net. Stanwick, driving
just north of goal-line extended, let fly an on-the-run sharp-angle
shot at the empty net; hitting the high far corner for a goal.
Almost simultaneously, one of the Johns Hopkins defenders had left
Stanwick to cover up a man in the middle of the field and had his
back turned to the reigning Tewaaraton Award winner as the ball
flew through the air. Bassett, behind the net, noticed that
Stanwick was going to shoot, but couldn't get back to front of the
cage in time. Stanwick made a split-second crafty choice that was
absolutely the right play.

The Ugly: North Carolina-Maryland

I can't imagine a ton of people who were comfortable with seeing
on widely-available television Maryland junior midfielder Kevin
Cooper and North Carolina redshirt sophomore midfielder Greg
McBride scrapping in an ugly on-field fight with 40 seconds left in the
Tar Heels' 11-10 win on Saturday. Both players were ejected
from the game and by rule face at least one-game suspensions going
forward.

The sight of one player landing punches to the head of another
player laying flat on his back is not needed on a national
platform. It gives the whole sport a bad image.

"It's unfortunate the way the game ended for sure," North
Carolina coach Joe Breschi told reporters afterward. "[Neither]
Maryland nor us are proud of that fact. We're both going to address
our guys and make sure that doesn't happen again."

Here's what did: After a Maryland ride on McBride, he passed the
ball away near midfield and was checked high to the head by Cooper.
McBride lost his stick and, as he rose from the turf, he attempted
to tackle Cooper. Cooper in turn took McBride to the ground and
punched him in the helmet before a group of North Carolina players
separated the pair.

Players spilled onto the field and had to be stopped by
officials, coaches and team personnel from both sides.

Walking off the field, McBride bled from around his left eye.
Both he and Cooper were ejected and Cooper was called for a
three-minute unreleasable illegal body check penalty for the
initial hit that sparked the incident.

After five total penalties were issued among both teams,
including bench conducts, Maryland freshman longpole Goran Murray
scored a man-up goal with 20 seconds left and UNC's Steven Rastivo
had to make a save in the final seconds to prevent overtime.

"I'm exhausted, but still on my toes ready to go after what
transpired," North Carolina co-captain Marcus Holman said after the
game, according to the team's website. "I don't think I've ever
finished a lacrosse game like that.

"Anytime you play an ACC team, it's going to be physical. Guys
were chirping a little bit. We just want to show we're not going to
back down from any team, no matter who we play."

The tussle lasted only a couple of seconds, but it will probably
be what this game is long remembered for.

The Top Five

After this weekend, it's clear that Virginia and Johns Hopkins
could very well meet in the national championship game. After those
top two, UMass and Loyola are still unbeaten. Beyond that, there
could be several opinions on who's next best. Cornell won Saturday
but needed an unheard of 8-0 fourth quarter to do it against Penn.
Lehigh is now 9-1. Maryland, despite losing to North Carolina,
still has the potential to make a deep postseason run with a
variety of offensive weapons and great goaltending and faceoff
play.

Syracuse's Tough Road

The Orange's season has the potential of getting away from them
quickly after an 11-10 loss to Villanova on Sunday in the
Carrier Dome. Syracuse's always tough schedule is just that,
starting with a game against Duke on Sunday at the Big City Classic
followed by Princeton and Cornell. The 'Cuse is 4-3 and just
suffered its first loss since the formation of the Big East men's
lacrosse conference in 2010. Among other issues, coach John Desko
was unpleased with the Orange's shot selection on Sunday.

Northwestern – And Everyone Else

With apologies to Gary Gait's Syracuse women's team, which
forced OT with Northwestern at the Carrier Dome and has a few top 5
wins, this season looks like the Wildcats' to win once again, and
take an seventh NCAA title in eight seasons.